Elsword Fanfic - Pending Name
by NarissaAsbrey
Summary: Amelia gets gets transported into the world of Elsword and does not know the reason why. She learns that the town she's been teleported too has a dark mystery OAO
1. Chapter 1

BANG!

Darkness clouded my vision and my head started pulsating. Rubbing my forehead I tried opening my eyes, concrete grazing my knees. I groped around for my sword which I located and sheathed. I felt fur brush past my arm and I turned to my side. Good, Blacktip was okay. My little snow-white fox stumbled in front of me, his black-tipped tail thudding the floor.

I stroked his silky fur, judging my surroundings. 'Where do you think we've ended up this time?' Many houses lined the streets beside tall business buildings. Judging by the glowing streetlights and non-lit sky, I guessed it was some early time in the morning. Down the road, a supermarket-looking shop had its lights on, probably on late night shift.

Blacktip had noticed it too and looked at me questioningly.

In reply, I shrugged and lifted myself off the ground. As an aero-kinetic, I found amusement in dusting or drying myself off completely. I simply put my fists together and let out my air. It's never easy to explain how an aero-kinetic performs moves, but let's just say I was no longer dusty.

I began my venture down the road to the supermarket-like building, Blacktip at my feet. The streetlights flickered as we passed each in turn, as if they welcomed us into this foreign town. There was a lot of sky to be seen above, but the stars were hidden by the streetlights' shine. At last, the supermarket, which was indeed a supermarket, was there in front of us. Its automatic doors slid open as we entered their sensor field. It was a small shop, just enough to suit the townspeople's needs.

There was a young-ish lady, probably seventeen or eighteen, leaning over the counter, deep in slumber. Attempting not to disturb her, I fished out a local newspaper from a basket beside the counter. The date in the top right-hand corner stated it was the '17th of May, 2014'. I let out a sigh of relief, glad we hadn't either gone back or forth in time. I skim-read the front page but couldn't make out which name was the town I was currently in. Multiple titles kept cropping up but without a clue it was hard to know which was what.

A rustle of plastic caused me to stop reading. Blacktip had been rummaging through the shelves and made a mess of packaged cooking ingredients.

_Blacktip!_ I called to him telepathically, urging him to not awaken the sleeping shopkeeper. Trying my best to tidy up the shelf, I wondered how many hours there were left 'til sunrise. Surely there would be a clock in here somewhere.

After a few minutes of searching the shop, I found only one clock, well, watch – the shopkeeper's watch. Awkwardly, I leaned on the counter, trying to position myself to get a clear view of the analogue face. 6:15 it said, presumably in the morning. Not long later the sun will rise and the townsfolk with be up, bustling about their daily routine, and I, a humble intruder will…search for clues.

I left the little shop, amazed I hadn't once woken up the young lady. Wandering about town, the sun gradually took its place in the sky. I came to many corners and a few roundabouts, blindly taking a random route. Lights switched on in many houses and the streetlights began to dim in brightness. Finally, the town had awoken.

The sun was high in the sky now, its rays touching every piece of land it could find. After going 'round and 'round the area, I began memorising its layout, realising the neighbourhood was relatively small. I made my way back to the largest building I had seen. It was probably as big as the mansion I once called home, but those days have come and gone now.

I heard footsteps around the corner I had just come by. On instinct, I hid behind a nearby tree, just wide enough to conceal my whole body. As the footsteps grew louder, I peeked around the corner, careful to keep myself hidden.

_Blacktip, shush!_ I urged the little creature who was clawing at the tree. He backed up behind me as the person came into view. It was the shopkeeper, her long hair, pale-green-blonde in colour, streaming behind her revealing her elven ears. She was wide awake now as she raced up the path, her apron still on her.

Blacktip made to follow but I stopped him, sensing that we'd have another encounter not very long later.

**_i_**_She could tell us where we are_. Blacktip pointed out.

_But she's in a hurry, we shouldn't disturb her._

We waited on a bench in front of the brick walls of the large building. An hour had probably passed since the girl ran past and there were still no signs of life, at least around this part of town.

'Do you think no one comes around here?' I questioned Blacktip, who lay on the bench beside me as I stroked his fur.

_Maybe, but the building behind us looks like some type of hall or gathering place_. He replied.

'Mm, well, why don't we try to find that girl again? It's better than sitting and doing nothing.' I suggested. Jumping to my feet, I added, 'She might even give us something to-'

'Watch out!'

'Huh?!'

'OUCH!'

Great, two blows to my head in one day.

'Sorry miss, are you o…kay?'

Rubbing my head, I looked up to see a red-haired boy, somewhere around my age. He reminded me of my childhood sweetheart, Aaron, except this boys' hair was so much spikier.

He had a hand extended to me, but I couldn't take it. I couldn't escape his gaze on me as if he'd seen an angel, which was definitely something I wasn't. Oh no, it must be my ears he's staring at, and my tail. I'd almost forgotten they'd existed. I was bitten by Blacktip a good six years ago and that caused me to mutate into what's called a kitsune, a humanoid fox who could also transform into a fox at will. My pointed pale-pink ears and my white-tipped tail must stick out so much and that's what the boy must be staring at, surely.

_Amelia, Amelia!_

'Oh!' Thank God Blacktip existed! Without him I would've been staring at this red-head 'til one of us made a move. 'U-um, sorry, heheh, um-'

'Oh, don't worry, um...' We both awkwardly laughed, trying to make it seem like nothing happened at all. He helped me up and scratched the back of his head, attempting to hide his rosy-cheeked face.

Dusting off my skirt for the second time that day - this time without using any aero-kinetics - I hauled up my fox companion into my arms to serve as a distraction for my sweaty palms. We stood there uneasily trying not to look at each other. I couldn't stop myself from continuously glancing in his direction. Every time I did, I noticed something new. He wore a blue school-boy uniform and a large red backpack. He was at least five centimetres taller than me, and that wasn't including his hair that rose another ten centimetres off his head.

I saw him glance my way and for a second our eyes met, but I made myself look at Blacktip to avoid eye contact. I was about to say something to break the awkward silence, when I heard him gasp. Looking up at the red-head, I saw he was staring at Blacktip, then at my hair and my clothes and my ears and tail, and then back to Blacktip.

A smile began to spread across his face and his eyes lit up. 'Are you related to Ara Haan?' he exclaimed a little too loudly.

I forced a chuckle, completely bewildered. 'Excuse me?'

'Yeah, you've got long black hair, well brown, and a fox, you almost look exactly like her!' His eyes kept darting over all the features of my body adding to my discomfort.

'I-I think you're mistaken, I um-' I paused, wondering whether I should tell this complete stranger how I got here or tell him something entirely incorrect.

'Never mind, come with me, I'll explain everything.'

'What?' But he'd already grabbed my arm, allowing me to use only one arm to hold my little fox.

The boy led me into the large building, past the brick wall and into its halls. Seeming to know the place well, he took me up several flights of stairs and eventually we ended up on the rooftop. He let go of my arm and went to lean on the green railing. I watched him from a few steps behind, expecting him to say something.

_What do you think he wants to explain? _I asked Blacktip, hugging him close.

_No idea, but be on the offensive in case he tries anything funny._ His reply confused me. What could this boy do with no weapon and at the top of a roof? He couldn't even push me off from where I was standing.

I was about to say something yet again, but he cut me off by turning around and saying, 'The name's Elsword and this is RubenHigh School in RubenVillage. I thought you looked like Ara Haan 'cause, oh, hang on, I've got a picture somewhere.' He knelt down with his bag in front of him. He searched through the front pocket and pulled out a little book. Walking up to me, he flicked through the pages. 'Here, see? She's our newest team member and our headmaster always provides us with a picture of each member.'

He was right; I beared a striking resemblance to this Ara Haan girl. Her hair was jet black and double the length of mine, falling to her ankles with a portion tied in a side ponytail. Her eyes were a lot cuter than mine as mine were pointy which people say looked girly. Connected to her hair-tie was a stuffed fox plushie, approximately the size of her face.

'The only real difference is your clothes and hair.' Elsword commented.

'Could I look through the book?' I asked as kindly as I could.

'Um, sure, I guess.' he replied, handing me the book, spots of colour rising to his cheeks again.

I took a seat on the floor cross-legged with Blacktip on one side and Elsword on the other. I flipped back to page one where Elsword was posed ready to battle, blood-red sword in hand and clad in red, white, black and silver armour. Beneath his name wrote '_Class - Lord Knight.'_

I saw the real him notice my confusion and he explained. 'Our school isn't a normal school. We're taught maths and English and stuff, but those are taught in lower grades. I'm seventeen so I'm already in second year training. You can choose from three different classes from six different battle styles.' he gestured to hand the book to him, and I did so. He turned to the last page where a table was pasted in. Elsword proceeded to teach me how to read the table and its confusing contents. There was knighthood, magician, archer, beast and nasod. From there, each one extended to a class as Elsword had said and each class had one other extension.

'Ara Haan's the newest member to our guild and she's also created a new battle style - martial arts.' he paused, looking up at the sky and thinking hard about something. It reminded me of how often Aaron did so. I remembered on countless occasions, I'd say he thought way too hard sometimes. That'd usually break his concentration and he'd look at me confused, causing me to fall for him even more.

'I don't think they've made more than one class for her.' Elsword continued after his long pause, snapping me back to the present. 'She's also one year our junior which means she'll be the only one left in the guild when we leave in two years' time.' He still had that far off look, imagining the future when they'd leave.

'So, after the years of normal subjects, you get three years of training to prepare for what?' I asked, completely baffled by the fact these small town folk had a school to fight.

He looked at me like he'd forgotten I existed, but then smiled sadly and looked back at the sky. 'To prepare for our future. You see, this town is running out of money and we've been told to move out somewhere. Since this town is in the middle of nowhere, somewhere is pretty far off from here.' He paused; sorrow and hints of fear began to fill his eyes.

This was me, eight years ago, when I ran away from home. I tried to be strong, I tried to not care, but no one could ever push out all fear. 'Elsword,' I whispered empathetically, placing a hand on his leg. 'It's okay to be afraid.' For some reason, I didn't feel weird around him anymore. I'd found a connection to him, to the whole town. They were all lost.

_Amelia, is there anything we can do? _questioned Blacktip, his furry self climbing into my lap to pat with my free hand.

_I have a strong feeling we have to, I just don't know what._

'Sorry, I got carried away.' said the knight, looking down at me.

Realising my hand was still on his leg; I pulled it back and retrieved the book, continuing to read through the pages, heat bunching up in my cheeks. I tried my best to focus on the information, but my mind persisted on darting back to what I had just done. The words and images kept dancing in front of me, blurring themselves so I hadn't a chance to see them.

'Oh um, I didn't catch your name.' Elsword said.

'Amelia Asbrey.' I replied, accepting any change of subject.

'Ah, pretty name.' he smiled, leaning back to lie down, his arms behind his head. 'I come up here every morning to clear my mind. It's great on the rooftops.'

I could see what he meant; the air was beautifully fresh up here. I placed the book on the floor as well as Blacktip. I went to lean on the railing to see a spectacular view. The whole town could be seen from the school's rooftop, save parts hidden behind tall buildings. There were people everywhere now. Majority of them were school kids heading in my direction, unbeknownst to them that I'll be the one to shape their future. I still wasn't sure how, but I knew I _will_, because that was the sole purpose of Blacktip and I being sent here.

'You're thinking too hard,' Elsword was leaning over the railing with his back, squinting up at me as if trying to read my thoughts.

'No I'm not; I'm just admiring the view.' I replied, my cheeks burning again. How can it be, that this boy be somehow so alike to Aaron. His behaviour, his hair, his knighthood and even the way he spoke reminded me of Aaron.

I saw his eyebrows lift in the corner of my eye. 'Your eyes are pink!'

And that's when I lost it. 'You're joking! You hadn't noticed something so plainly in sight? Did you miss my ears and tail too?!'

He immediately hopped off the railing and at looked me all over again. 'Woah! You're like a fox yourself!' the boy exclaimed, reaching up to touch my ears.

Pushing his arm away, I corrected him coldly. 'A kitsune.'

'A what?'

But before I could explain any further, the door that led to the stairwell that led back down into the building, burst open to reveal a high-bun, purple-haired girl, wearing the girl version of the blue school uniform.

'ELSWORD! You're gonna be late if-' she yelled and then noticed me. She stood there with one hand still on the doorknob and the other holding her bag on her shoulder. Not moving an inch, I could see, even from my far distance, she was trying hard not to vibrate.

A second person came running up the stairs, her high sweet voice echoing. 'Aisha, slow down, why can't-' It was the shopkeeper, and now she was staring at me too. Centre of attention was never my favourite spot, nor was it Blacktip's. As soon as the second girl made her appearance, my companion had leapt into the protection of my arms, leaving the guild book alone on the floor.

I had no clue what to say. Two girls were staring at me, the intruder. The purple-haired Aisha looked like she wanted to kill me, and the other hid behind her, looking so scared she might run away at any time.

'I-'

'This is Amelia, she's transferring into here.' Elsword had saved me. Just when I thought he was an idiot, some intelligence shone through; except now I have to actually join the school. 'I found her this morning looking lost so brought her up here to show her the town.'

'Oh, well, that's fine I guess, but then you're both gonna be late.' replied Aisha. She said it in such a harsh way, it didn't seem "fine" at all.

'Elsword, I don't even have a uniform!' I whispered urgently to him.

'Don't worry, I'll make something up.' A little louder, he added, 'I'll take you to the front office and you can work it out from there, right?'

I forced a smile. 'I guess.'

He went to get the book and put it back in his bag. Hauling his bag to his shoulder, he addressed the girls. 'I'll meet you guys in homeroom; gotta help out Amelia first.'

'Sure thing, but if you're late,' Aisha turned to leave and added, 'You'll find out soon enough.' Then she left, the shopkeeper following behind.

Turning back to me, Elsword said, 'Don't worry 'bout Aisha, she's always like that. C'mon, I'll lead the way.'

'Mm.'


	2. Chapter 2

On the way down, Elsword explained a few more things. Aisha, the purple-haired girl, was a Magician, Class: High Mage. The other girl was Rena, an Archer, Class: Sniping Ranger. She worked part-time at the towns' supermarket to save up money for a new bow. Unfortunately, the only shift available to her was the night shift which didn't really give her much pay.

When we arrived at the front office, Elsword said, 'I'll start you off but I gotta run- rollcall is in like, two minutes.'

I nodded a reply, still holding Blacktip in my arms. I was afraid I wouldn't be allowed to bring him into the school, and if that was so, where would I leave him?

Elsword gestured for me to go in first and I did, then continued following behind like a lost child. At the front desk, a lady with long orange hair tied in a ponytail sat organising papers. Elsword tapped the petite bell and the lady looked up, her eyes bright.

Taking off her red-rimmed rounded glasses, she greeted us. 'Good morning Elsword and co., what seems to be the problem?'

'Amelia Asbrey here wants to enrol into this school.' Elsword answered, leaving me to cower behind him.

'Ah.' The office lady came through the door and into the main room where Elsword and I stood. She looked me up and down in a non-criticising way. 'Do you have a uniform honey? I don't believe I've seen you around.'

She was so sweet, I found myself dumb in her radiant presence. All I could do was shake my head.

'Amelia's a traveller so-'

'Elsword, you'll be late for class if you don't be on your way now.' She addressed Elsword like he was her son. And at her words, he did immediately as he was told, apologetically smiling at me as he left.

'Now, oh what cute ears you have.' she exclaimed, patting them as I still couldn't move. 'I'm sorry, what was I saying? Oh yes, my name is Ariel and if you ever need anything, come to me. I take care of any upcoming events and make sure the school is in order. People say I should be the principal, but that's a far more advanced job, ahahaha!' she laughed like it was an old inside joke between her and the wall, but I did my best to make some sort of laugh.

'So,' she continued, taking my arm. 'Come through here and I think we'll be able to find you a fitting uniform.' As she led me through a corridor and into a little room of wardrobes, she said, 'Of course, you'll have to get a uniform of your own over time. The spares are spares for a reason.'

I just nodded to everything she said, half dazed about all the events unfolding one after the other and still unable to find my voice.

Ariel was now looking through a wardrobe. Every time she flipped to a bunch of uniforms, she'd look back at me and then back to the uniforms. 'I'm sorry, hon, but could you put down that adorable friend of yours? It's obstructing your figure.'

I mumbled something probably inaudible to her and placed Blacktip on the floor beside me. Ariel studied me and then said 'Ah' and went to a completely different wardrobe. This one should do.' She took out a rather small uniform and held it up against my body. 'Sorry dear,' she apologised again. 'I thought you were bigger but you're such a slim girl.'

I murmured something then hastily cleared my throat before saying, 'Oh, that's okay.'

'So you do have a voice.' she commented not unkindly. 'There's a change room through there. I'll fetch you a bag for the clothes you're wearing now.' Then she disappeared through the doorway we had come through.

'Don't touch anything, okay Blacktip?'

He sat down looking at me with puppy-eyes.

'Stay.' and then I headed to the change room.

I heard Ariel come back and I exited the room, already changed.

'Perfect fit?'

'Oh yes, thank you.' I lied; it was still slightly loose compare to the normal dress I wore. As she handed me the bag, I clumsily stuffed my folded clothes in.

Walking back to the office area, Ariel said. 'You'll have to see me after school ends for your enrolment papers. It'll be a bit hard as you're a traveller and you seem like you really haven't moved in anywhere, but I'm sure we can work something out.'

In the office, she opened a drawer and took out a sheet of paper. 'This is a map of the school. You're sixteen, yes?'

I nodded.

'Good,' she quickly highlighted a box, then another and continued, 'so we're here now,' and she gestured to the top right-hand corner. 'You'll want to go down this corridor, and then at the end, there'll be flight of steps leading to the dungeons. Unfortunately, you won't be able to meet up with Elsword, but I think the lunch bell rings at 1:30 pm, just a few hours. Just explain your situation to whomever teacher you meet down there and go with the flow.' she smiled so sweetly, it looked like a reflex, like it was pasted on her face.

I said 'thank you' accepted the map and began to head off, ready to get lost. As I was about to leave, I turned around to ask, 'Can I bring my fox with me?'

'I'm sure it'll be fine for your first day, but you'll have to get rid of it in future.'

She instantaneously went back to sorting papers and I looked at Blacktip on the ground. _What do you think buddy?_

_We'll figure something out,_he assured me, not looking so sure himself.

_Mm._

It wasn't as exhausting as I had initially thought. I easily located the staircase that led down to the dungeons. It took a little while to find the arena Ariel had highlighted, but I found it soon enough. Inside, countless kids, my age, were training. Swords clashed and arrows found their bullseye's. Magic orbs were thrown all over the room and drone thing's battled against beastly human.

An intimidating man named Hagus spotted me and asked what I was up to. I explained my situation as Ariel had told me to do. He asked what battle style I used and deciding aero-kinetics fit into no categories, I said I was a swordsman. He got me to battle against him to test my skill, and I did, easily beating him. Obviously the tactics I had learnt in Thie'ele were far more superior to this small town, even though Thie'ele was a small town itself, actually, probably smaller.

Hagus had me demonstrate a few skills to the knight group. Accustomed to teaching the children in Thie'ele, I showed them the best way to deflect an attack with enough balance and reserved energy to fling an attack right after. For the next two hours, I taught different and more relaxed ways of launching an attack back to back without giving the enemy any time to attack. All the while, Hagus walked around the large underground arena, crystal's its only source of light, correcting what needed correcting and otherwise simply nodding. Blacktip made sure not to get in the way while looking after my bagged clothing. Even his small size wasn't enough to save him from nearly getting obliterated.

When lunch bell rang, all my 'students' dropped to the floor, none of them brave enough to say how tired they were as I performed my tactics. I, on the other hand, wasn't exhausted at all. Sweaty, yes, especially in this ridiculous uniform, but this two hour training was nothing compared to my 24/7 schedule back in Thie'ele, and that included aero-kinetic lessons too.

Thanking the knights-in-training for their excellent practice, I said my farewells and headed out, not actually knowing where I was headed. My stomach grumbled, reminding me I hadn't eaten for who knows how long? 'What am I supposed to do now, Blacktip?'

_Maybe we should check with Ariel._

'I don't want to disturb her so much, though.' I lied again, and I could tell he saw right through me, but he gave no reply.

I tried to find my way back to the rooftop I went to earlier that morning where, at least, I thought no one would be. Eventually I found the staircase that led me there and climbed up slowly, my stomach threatening to collapse at any moment.

_Do you want me to heal you?_

_No, that'll be a waste. Besides I have no kaifuku saseru berries._

Blacktip was one of a kind fox. Not only was he the only snow-white, black-tipped fox, but he used telepathy to talk and had the power to restore a person's energy. Kaifuku saseru berries, or KS berries, were berries that my childhood friend, Cedilla Kokoro, created herself for the sole purpose of healing Blacktip. Blacktip would heal a person and then the berry would heal him. Cedilla warned me never to eat the berry myself because she said it gave any other life-form, besides silent foxes, bad rashes. Over time, the rashes would form puss-filled bubbles that absorb blood and eventually, the victim dies from lack of blood. I never figured out if she was joking or not, but I never ate a berry just in case.

At the top of the staircase, I made to open the door, but the door opened instead, revealing a tall man. One of his arms was robotic and sharp and it made me cringe, but I tried to stand my ground. He appeared to be a student as well, as he wore the school uniform.

'Are you Amelia Asbrey?' he questioned, his low voice echoing through the stairwell.

'Yes.' I replied, wondering how he knew.

As if he read my mind, he replied. 'I'll take you to Elsword - he said I'd find you up here.' He walked past me and I turned to face his back, unable to move. Realising I wasn't following; he turned and asked, 'You coming or what?'

'Oh, yes, of course.'

I scrambled down the stairs, trying to keep up with his fast pace. Once or twice he looked back to check I was following. Each time I tried to smile, but his face seemed so solemn, it scared me.

He led me to a secluded area where a fountain could be heard. After passing countless students, it felt impossible for a place like this to exist in the school. Through an archway of roses, a garden unfolded in front of my eyes. It was spectacularly marvellous; hardly any words could describe it. The fountain had water lilies surrounding its centre. Stone benches surrounded its splendour and stone pillars surrounded them.

The robot-armed man led me through one other archway to a similar setting but no fountain. There we found Elsword, Aisha, Rena and some other robot girl, but she was fully android. She had amazingly long silvery-white hair and a front fringe that almost crowded her yellow eyes. There was a white starfish-like thing with a blue jewel in tis centre, connected to a white headband. She looked like an angel and this garden was her kingdom.

'Ah, Raven you found her.' greeted Elsword as we came through the archway. Raven nodded and sat next to Rena who quickly turned to him and began talking. Why was she scared of me and not scared of him?

'Sit down, Amelia.' Aisha smiled, her attitude almost opposite from earlier that day. 'We come here every lunch time.' she explained, 'This is where our guild hangs out.'

'I see,' I said and took a seat on a bench facing opposite her, not knowing how to respond.

'Oh,' Aisha swivelled to her left and put her hands on the robot-girl's shoulders. The girl jumped a little but her expression hardly changed. 'This is Eve!'

'It's a pleasure to meet you.' she said, her voice monotone yet so graceful.

'Oh, the pleasure is mine.' I felt like I had to get up and curtsy in her presence or something, but I refrained from doing so.

There was a silence, then something jolted Aisha's memory and she began searching through her bag. She mumbled words to herself and pulled out a few books. Reaching the bottom, she retrieved a box, presumably her lunch box and took out an apple. Handing it to me, she said, 'You're probably hungry right? Go on, take it.'

I accepted it, thanking her, dropping the bag I had full of clothes on the floor. I ate as she fed raisins to Blacktip, who ate hungrily. She began conversing with Elsword who leant on the pillar behind him, again with his arms supporting his head. As I ate, Eve watched me, her blank expression unchanging. I felt as though I should say something, but nothing came to mind.

Trying to escape her unwavering gaze, I patted Blacktip and pretended to look around the area. Many stone benches lined the stone pillars. Between every two pillars, there was an archway which led to the grassy school grounds. Around each pillar, vines lined with pink and purple flowers swirled around them. On the floor was a large mosaic, probably of the school crest, or at least that's what I guessed it was.

'May I see that necklace you have?'

It took me a few moments to realise that Eve had spoken to me. I hurriedly said 'oh, of course' and took it off, placing it in her robot hand. As she examined my thin-chain necklace and its two charms, I went to throw out the apple core in a nearby bin. When I returned, Aisha and Elsword were also staring at my necklace. Aisha was holding it and was running her finger over my pink-winged dragonfly.

When she noticed my silver heart locket, she looked up mischievously. 'Is there anything in here?' she asked, one eyebrow raised, a smile hovering about her lips.

I didn't know how to reply. Aaron's picture was in there, but I didn't want to say. Then I'd probably have to launch into the story of my past. I'd have to explain how I somehow got teleported here. They'd find out that I wasn't from this world; they'd know I was an intruder and try to get rid of me.

'Um, I'd rather you not open it.' I stuttered shyly, reaching out to retrieve it.

For a second, I thought I saw Aisha glare at me, but then she smiled, that fake smile, like Ariel. She placed the necklace in my hand, saying, 'Oh, well, if you don't want us to see, that's fine.'

"That's fine" seemed to be her favourite line. In the short time that I'd known her, I already knew she took a strong disliking to me for a reason I knew not of. Clumsily, I put my necklace back on with sweaty palms. Something, anything, I had to break the tension.

'So where were you travelling before coming here?' asked Aisha slyly, the fake kindness spread all over her face.

Here we go, I gotta make something up._Blacktip! Blacktip help me!_

_What am I supposed to do?!_

_I don't know. Do something!_ 'I, um…' But the odds were in my favour yet again, for someone came running into this deserted area.

'Guys! Look what I found!' It was a blonde boy, an aura of royalty around him, but he looked at least two years younger than everyone else present and didn't wear the school uniform. The boy didn't notice me and opened his hands for everyone to see. 'I found it two blocks down from the supermarket.' There in his hands lied a white-pink watch-looking machinery. Instead of a clock face, there was a rectangular part, like an extremely tiny laptop, its lid closed.

'Oh! That's mine!' I exclaimed, startling the poor kid.

'Chung, this is Amelia Asbrey,' Eve said, not at all what I was expecting. She had a hand on my shoulder and concluded, 'Amelia, this is Prince Chung Seiker.'

'Prince?' Immediately I bowed low, Serena's teaching echoing in my head. 'Seiker-ouji-sama! O genki desu ka?"

Suddenly everyone went silent, even Rena and Raven stopped talking. Oh no, what've I done? Serena was Cedilla's sister. They had a Japanese father and a French mother. Countless times, Serena had taught me how to respect royalty in Japanese, as she was the oldest out of the four of us.

'Huh?' I heard the Prince say.

'A-ano, eto…' I began stuttering. Suddenly, I forgot where I was. Who were these people, all staring at me? They weren't the people there two seconds ago - they were people I'd seen five days ago.

'Amelia, are you okay?' the red one asked, his face blurring.

All these people, they were asking questions. Why were they asking questions?! Was that Serena? Eyeing me down? Or Aisha? Blotches of black obscured my vision, but not for long. I saw the red one outstretch his arms as I felt myself falling. 'Aaron…' I murmured, then, the light winked out.


	3. Chapter 3

_'This is stupid, you must have a different solution, Elder Bolana-sama.' a voice spoke._

_'She wants to prove her worth, thus I have given her this test.' replied another voice, a superior quality to her tone. _

_'What if she doesn't know what to do? What if she forgets everything we've told her?' the first one asked._

_'Serena, listen, if she forgets, we'll just have to trust her to remember. She's a smart girl, she'll know what to do.'_

'She's waking up!'

'Ugh,' I groaned, rubbing sleep from my eyes. I was in a sweet-scented bedroom, moonlight streaming through the open window beside me. I felt a hand on my hand and stared at it, nothing registering to my mind. Looking up I saw Rena, Elsword and Raven. Blacktip sat beside me, still sleeping atop my sheathed sword. As my mind began clearing slightly, I noticed it was Elsword's hand on mine, but when I looked to his face, I saw Aaron, his dark-red hair falling on his face.

'Have some water.' It was Rena who spoke, handing me a glass of water. I blushed, realising it was Elsword helping me to sit up, his face full of worry.

Mumbling my thanks, I sat up in the bed, absentmindedly sipping the water. What was that dream I had just now? It felt a long time ago, but somehow fresh in my mind. Right now, I wasn't with those people, and that wasn't Aaron; it was Elsword. I wasn't at home; I was in foreign land, with foreign people. Every piece of memory of the day slowly seeped back into my mind. Catching a glimpse of Rena's mouth moving, I came back to my senses. 'Sorry? What were you saying?'

She sat on the bed at my feet, her expression of worry deepening a little. 'I was saying that you passed out quite a few hours ago and Elsword carried you here. We couldn't find any other place, so we brought you here, to my spare bedroom.' Her sing-song voice made it sound so casual, but Elsword carried me! Immediately I looked at him and I knew we thought the same thing.

'Oh, heheh, thank you.' Trying to avoid his smile, I took another sip of the water. _What happened earlier? I remember the pavilion, the stone benches. I remember Aisha introducing me to the angelic Eve. Oh, where were they now? Doesn't matter, there was someone else too; a boy with blonde hair. The Prince! And he had my communicator!_ I almost spat out my water at the thought. 'Where is Seiker-ouji-sama?'

'Seiker-ouji-sama?' repeated Elsword, forcing out a laugh.

Oh, great, I did it again. Briefly, I explained it was an honorific term in Japanese meaning 'prince' and how my childhood friends taught me it. I took care to leave out any information of my whereabouts or exactly how long ago.

'You must be sad to be separated from them.' sympathised Rena, sitting on the bed again.

I shook my head, trying to smile. 'Not really. It's like the fourth or fifth time I've been separated from them.'

'Wow, you must travel a lot without them.' Elsword mused.

'Heheh, I guess you could put it that way.' I replied, avoiding to say that he himself made up that I was a traveller.

'Oh, is this what you were looking for?' Elsword held out his hand to me, the communicator in his palm.

'Oh, thank you!' I politely took it from him and put it back on my wrist where it formerly was. Flicking it open, I pressed the **i**_on__**/i**_button, hoping with all my might that it still worked.

'What is it?'

'It's a wrist communicator,' I answered Elsword, who was now leaning on the bed, trying to examine it. 'It keeps me in contact with my friends. More commonly, it's known as the LDC, meaning: Long-Distance Contactor...oh, I think it's broken…'

'Wow, that looks so high-tech!'

'Really? You get so amused by such small things.' _Just like Aaron__**.**_ I didn't say the last part out loud, it was more directed to myself. 'Oh, by the way,' I continued, trying to act as normal as possible. 'Did Ariel have the enrolment documents ready?'

'Oh yes, right…' Rena went over to the desk beside the bed but on the opposite side of the room. Behind Elsword, she located the papers and handed them to me with a black pen. 'Here. She said to sign all the circled areas, and also, Hagus wants you to come and teach his knights for the first half of the day, and then join us for the second half.'

As I scanned the sheets, I almost missed what she was telling me. 'Join you? But I'm still a junior.'

'Hagus says you're too advanced, he also wants to pay you for your teachings.' she replied, standing by Raven who was reading a novel, glasses on his nose.

'Pay me? That's-'

'Ariel says you need the money if you're staying here. Now, hang on, I have a few more messages. You're in the same roll call as Eve, you're joining Elsword for second half of school. At night, you're joining me in night-shift for more pay, and Ariel wants you to get your own uniform as soon as possible. Um…I feel as though I've missed something.' This was the most I'd ever heard Rena talk. It was so hard to get around everything she said, especially because a quarter of my brain was still focusing on the LDC's fuzzing screen and another quarter signed the papers of enrolment.

'So, hang on, my schedule is - roll call, teaching, lunch, training and then night-shift?'

'Yes.'

'So where do I go between school and night-shift?'

'You'll be staying with me.' she smiled, a real smile unlike Ariel and Aisha. 'Oh, and Blacktip has to stay here during school hours, that's what I missed.'

'Oh, did you hear that buddy' I asked, nudging Blacktip.

_You know I've been awake the whole time._

_Yes, of course._

'One more thing,' Rena continued, gaining back my attention. 'You'll need some other clothes, but we have no clothes store; every girl in the district can sew.'

'Oh, I can sew, provided the fabric and equipment. Cedilla taught me.'

'That shouldn't be a fuss then.' She stood where she was then, everyone silent. After a few seconds, Rena clapped her hands and shooed out the boys. 'Okay, time to go boys we need our nap before we work!'

Raven kissed Rena on the cheek goodbye and left immediately. Elsword smiled at me and left, saying 'bye' to Rena on the way out.

When the two had left, Rena sat beside the bed where Elsword had formerly been in. Taking on a serious expression, she said. 'So here's the drill. We'll both have a shower, then nap for the two hours we have left. When my alarm rings, we grab our aprons and get to the supermarket.'

'What about-'

'Blacktip will have to stay here - no pets allowed in the store.' she answered as if reading my thoughts.

'Oh, okay.'

'As tomorrow is Friday, we'll buy fabrics after school and we don't work on the nights that school don't follow, silly, I know. I'll take a shower first and then you and then we sleep in the lounge room and dash out the door, got it?' She spoke so fast, I almost missed half of it. Compare to the first time I saw her, she was like a totally different person. Her eyes shone bright with excitement like we were planning something evil or something like that.

'I think I got it.' I replied after a short while.

'Excellent.' And she dashed out the door, closing it behind her. Blacktip stretched then, finally moving after he seemed dead for the past few hours.

'Get ready for this new life, Blacktip, 'cause we may be here a while.'

_And that's just what we need._

And so it was, Rena and I worked our shift and brought home various fruits for Blacktip, who stayed at home to look after the LDC and also because he wasn't allowed to come, as Rena and I went to school. The hustle in the morning excited me for some reason, like sleeping for a long time and then being awoken into a festival. When we got to school, we met up with Eve and together, they directed me to the front office where I dropped of my enrolment sheets to Ariel. She flicked through them and smiled her fake smile, giving permission to proceed to roll call.

In roll call, we sat in alphabetical order of first names, and I was stuffed at the front. As it seemed a custom to the school, I had to introduce myself and had to list hobbies, or interests. The class seemed to obsess over my pale-pink eyes and fox features almost instantly, unlike Elsword who took forever. It was a little weird as the only person I knew was Eve, and it wasn't only me who thought she was angelic. Upon arriving to roll call, almost every boy offered her water or to fan her or to take out and tuck in her chair for her. I, for one, hardly understood at all. She was a robot; she had no need for water and fanning. Nonetheless, she accepted everything without any opinion.

In the first half of the day, I taught Hagus' knights how to defend with flexibility. For example, if your foe were to slash at your front, you would block as usual then bend backwards and swivel 'round, eventually ending up behind your opponent to attack them there. It amused me to see hardly anyone able to do it, as they all looked as stupid as when Aaron taught me. Recalling the exercises I had been taught, I demonstrated a few stretches. Just like Aaron had told me, I told them: 'A knight cannot be a true knight without strength, accuracy and flexibility.'

Lunch time was as the day before. I got to know a little more about everyone. Eve was a Nasod, Class: Code Electra. She was the only nasod still alive since for who knows how long ago. Also, she was the **i**_queen_**/i** of the nasods, once upon a time. Of course, people could choose to take on the nasod fighting style, but they didn't get turned into robots. Each were given a set of drone's and Aisha said the school was over-delighted when they found Eve, a real life nasod.

Chung joined us again and I apologised for yesterday, which he responded with a childish smile and a lollipop. I learnt that not only did he look young, but he acted like a child! He brought cake and sweets to share with everyone, though kept most to himself. If Serena were there, she would've said he were the 'lolita' type. The reason he didn't go to the school was because he attended home schooling, like I had at the age of five. Luckily for him, he was allowed a one hour lunch break like the rest of us, at the same time, go figures.

It wasn't until my first real lesson with Elsword, when things got a little hectic…

I was talking to Rena on the way down as Raven was in the third year training already. Seeming as though she'd gotten used to me and was no longer afraid, she told me heaps about how the shop worked.

'…oh and by the way, from now on,' she was saying, 'you'll take care of the organising - make sure there are no empty shelves, that the storeroom has food and supplies, stuff like that.'

'Mhm, and are you still staying as shopkeeper?' I asked, as I wrote down notes in a notepad she gave me.

'Yup, also, we get paid at the end of every week, but you'll probably get payed by the end of next week and so on, as you've only just started. And another thing, not many people come by at night, but there is the occasional late night shopper.' she stated, reminding me of yesterday morning when she had fallen asleep on her shift.

'Hey Amelia, ready for training?' popped up Elsword with a hand on my shoulder.

'Yeah, I guess.' I smiled, already feeling the glares of Aisha on my back.

'Don't worry, I'll go easy on you.' he said, winking.

Rena took my arm, pulling me away from him. 'Excuse me Selsword, but I was talking to her.'

'Selsword?'

'Wow, so attached to her already? Or just lonely without Raven?' he taunted in reply, taking my other arm and dragging me away from Rena.

'E-Elsword…'

'Actually, Amelia and I have had much bonding time, so in way, yes, I have grown attached to her.' and she pulled me back her way.

'Well, that's great! Guess what? You'll have more time for that later, but right now I need her to get in the mood for some training.' and again, he yanked me closer to him.

'Eh…' but no matter my efforts, the two continuously tugged me left and right, throwing endless arguments at each other. It wasn't until we entered the large arena when they stopped dead in their tracks. A gang of five tough-looking boys stood with amazingly horrible posture, drunkenly eyeing Rena. As we stared, the rest of the students went about their usual training, apparently oblivious to what was taking place. At the sight of their ugly faces, Rena immediately let go of my arm and hid behind Elsword and I.

'Aw, don't run away missy Rena, sing a song again.' croaked the one who seemed to be the leader. He stood in the middle and spread his arms wide in a welcoming gesture. 'We won't hurt you…much.'

And that's when my old self came back. I shook off Elsword's hand, that was still on my arm, shoving then notepad into his chest, and whispered, 'I'll take care of this' when he tried to pull me back. I stood few metres I front of them and unsheathed my sword, assuming a basic battle stance.

'Oh! A new little missy wants to step in.' jeered their leader, making the others snicker in delight. His attention back on me, he leant down so that he was at eye level. 'And what's your name, princess?'

'Don't call me that!' I swung upwards and he dodged backwards just in time, otherwise his nose would've been chopped off. I saw him ready to throw an insult my way, but I zoomed forward and struck his long blade that he took out in the nick of time. 'Fast reflexes for a big guy.' I commented while continuously slashing left and right.

'Really? Maybe you're just slow.' he replied, his face of concentration to block my attacks. When I was about to deliver a hard blow, he jumped back, increasing the distance between us by at least three metres. He opened his arms wide again, a grin spreading across his face. 'Come, slash your worst.'

Completely to the opposite of his expectation, I smiled back, and sheathed my sword. 'Funny you should say that, you haven't attacked at all. I'm open wide.' and I outstretched my arms too. A moment passed and felt the stares of many onlookers, but I ignored them all for the tough guy zoomed forwards as I expected. In one swift movement, I dropped to the ground, palms on the floor, and swung around my legs, knocking my opponent to the round. Regaining my full height, sword back in hand, I mocked. 'Try again?'

There was anger and irritation in his expression now, and I sensed he hadn't been this humiliated like this in quite a while. Whispers were amongst the crowd and he looked around. As if using a silencing spell, everyone immediately stopped talking. Satisfied, he speedily came towards me but I lost my patience. A fingertips distance between him and my blade, I slashed left to right, not hitting him, but sending a gust of wind that sent him flying to the wall.

'Will you _attack_ me?!' I yelled as he tried to get up.

His face was scrunched up with scorn as he dragged his blade along the floor beside him. 'Dirty tricks, princess.' As expected, he came forward once more and slashed at me which I blocked effortlessly, leading me to perform the swivel-around-the-opponent technique. I heard him gasp as I came to his back, my sword on his around his neck.

'Go on, cut me.' he challenged, though I could almost feel his fright.

'Thank you for the permission, but it is beyond your value.' I then spun him to face me, my sword on his all the while. In another quick succession, I took one step back and switched out the blades of my sword to the two side ones, instead of the main blade, and pushed the undignified man to the ground. His blade hit the ground and he looked up at me, his full of fury and fear. My sword was still pointed at his face when loud cheers and clapping aroused.

'Well done, well done!' came a deep thunderous voice from behind me.

I took a moment to look around and everyone in range was clapping. The knights and beasts had watched the performance and were all in awe, unlike the other classes who ignored the scene as it was probably quite a common incident. I saw Rena who stood bewildered, too stunned to clap or cheer, and next to her was Elsword, his jaw hanging in astonishment. Eve was clapping but I was sure she had no care in the matter.

'What a spectacular performance! That's one way to deal with a bully.' boomed the voice again.

I spun around intending to thank Mr Booming Voice, but I stopped when I saw his face. 'Hagus?'

'Hagus?' he repeated, then threw his head back in laughter. 'You must be talking about my little brother! My name is Hagustus.'

For some reason, his reply brought a smile to my face. It was so ridiculous, I almost didn't believe it. Even his dark brown hair sat in the same combed back manner as Hagus. The only notable difference was his clothes which were red rather than blue. Snapping back to my once-upon-a-time royal manner, I sheathed my blade and laid my hands on top of each other. 'Well I'm obliged to meet such a humorous relative of that stern man.'

'Ha ha, and I'm obliged to meet such a ferocious fighter with a delicate tongue, Amelia Asbrey?'

'Mhm.'

'Good, Ariel informed me of your position.' he said, then noticed everyone was still staring. He clapped his hands twice, commanding, 'What're you all staring at? Get back to training!' Immediately, the students resumed training and the gang of tough guys escaped to the opposite side of the room. Hagustus nodded satisfaction, and then said to me. 'Come this way Miss Asbrey, we'll get started on how we run things in second-year training. Elsword!'

'Yes sir!'

Hagustus indicated for him to join us and he did so willingly. We followed the instructor to a deserted corner.

'So,' he began facing us, his expression one of downright seriousness. There was a moment of silence in which Elsword and I looked at each other, wondering if we should say something. Elsword was about to say something when Hagustus' expression shattered to one of pure excitement. 'Before we get started, may I see that sword of yours, Miss Asbrey?'

'Why of course.' and I took out my blade once again. As I handed it to him, his expression changed yet again, but this time to utter confusion.

'Sir?'

'Hm…' he twirled the weapon a few times, and tested its weight. He then proceeded to violently jab it back and forth.

'What do you think he's doing?' whispered Elsword, watching the extremely perplexed instructor.

'Um, sir?' I questioned again, gesturing to pass the sword. As he did so, he mumbled something almost inaudible. Figuring he wanted to see the side blades, I activated them via tubes in the blade with wind I produced from my palms.

'Ah! How did you do that?' he asked, delight and curiosity on his face.

'See these holes on the hilt? I send wind through them and that pushes the blades out.' I explained, showing each part as I spoke and traced the path the wind would flow through.

'What an advanced instrument, um…wind?'

'Oh…' I did it again! This time, I definitely have no escape route. 'I'm an aero-kinetic.' I confessed, terrified of what their reaction would be.

They both stared for a moment I felt way too long for my liking. Then just when I was about to run right out of the town, Elsword asked. 'So you're a magician?'

'And a swordsman?'

'Um, well, no…um how do I explain?' The two looked at each other, their thoughts probably somewhat the same: _'She's an alien.'_. What was I meant to say? I didn't want to reveal my whole past to these people, and technically speaking, I _was_ an alien in that world. Well, waiting for someone to save me now would be next to pointless. 'I…' I began, only to find my voice box not working.

'You?'

'I'm not from this world.'

'What?!'

_Damn it, I didn't have to say that yet!_I mentally kicked myself. 'I-I mean, I-I'm …okay…' So I explained how I came from another world and how there I learned aero-kinetics. I told them how my sword was crafted for only me as I was the only aero-kinetic. I removed my right three-quarter-length glove to show them my village insignia. It was a flower to symbolise the founder of the village's love of flowers. I was careful with the words I chose as I didn't want to reveal what wasn't necessary. 'I still haven't a clue who or why I was sent here.' I concluded, feeling as though I had to sit down before a chance of fainting.

'Woah…' breathed Elsword, his jaw hanging again.

Stroking his beard, Hagustus took a deep breath as if a great gust of fresh air just blew in his face. 'That's a dark secret for a young lass to keep hidden.'

'Well, it's only been a day and a half, so it's not that bad.' I lied, one day more and I would've exploded, especially with an idiot like Elsword and a meddler like Aisha.

'Do you need some water?' I saw Elsword ask, 'You're looking a little pale.'

'Pale? Heheh, I'm fine.' But then all I remembered were the worried faces of the red-head and the instructor, and then, darkness once more.


	4. Chapter 4

**i**_'At this rate she might fall out of it quicker than we initially thought, Bolana-sama.' said the same voice as before._

_'Shush, we must trust in her. Hurry, pass me that.' spoke the elderly voice._

_'Amelia! Amelia!' called a boy's voice from a much further distance._

_'Someone tame that boy!' ordered the elder. 'He would've thought to do something before this girl decided to do this.'_**/i**

Muffled voices, lots of it, were all I could hear when I woke up. The familiar sweet-scent drifted around the room, waking me from my unconsciousness. Blacktip wasn't next to me this time, but I could feel his presence. He was probably with whoever was talking outside in the lounge. The bedroom I was in was quite different to the lounge, a totally different feel. For one, the room was painted a pinky-purple while the lounge was painted cream. A bookshelf stood facing the bed with numerous books of a various colours. The desk on the opposite wall to the bed was white, piled with loose papers, more books and stationary.

Though it felt wrong, I took a book from the shelf and flicked through its pages, the moonlight my only light source. The book I had chosen was one about poems. I stopped on a page that stood out, its background money ridden with a leprechaun atop a pile of golden coins. The poem read:

** i**_What's a life without a little gold?_

_Each leprechaun has heaps to hold._

_What's to gain with little to start with?_

_Leprechauns are born with gold forthwith._

_Yah can't run a town without any money,_

_And the leprechaun's won't give you any._

_Just be aware of the links that connect, _

_'Cause the leprechauns will only seek to perfect._

_Heart of Serenity__**/i**_

**_i_**_What an odd poem,__**/i**_ I thought to myself. Re-shelving the book, I wondered what to do. I didn't feel like seeing other people quite yet, so I took a seat at the desk. Not knowing what to do, I began trying to organise the loose papers. There were sketches, writings, graphs, and a whole lot of equations. Putting them in piles, I saw that a laptop was buried beneath the sheets, placed in the centre of the table, its power still on. Something inside me made to reach out to open it, but just as I was about to, Rena came in with a tray in her hands. I went to pick up a pen as to not seem suspicious.

'Glad to see you're finally up.' she smiled, placing the tray on the table, oblivious to what I almost did. 'Eat something, it's already dinnertime.'

'I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble.' I replied, choosing the smallest thing on the tray.

'Don't be, and are you sure you're alright?' she asked, looking at me as if trying to read my thoughts. 'That's the second time you've fainted since coming here.'

'I'm sure it's just fatigue from past travellings.'

'Amelia…Elsword's told us everything.'

'Huh?' I coughed, choking on the cookie crumbs.

'He thought it better we knew.' she replied, passing me the glass of water.

'Why would he think that?'

'He's Elsword.' she replied simply.

'I have no objection.' I smiled then instantly reverted to worry. 'But you don't think I'm weird, do you?'

'Of course not, you've got ears, a tail, can use wind as a weapon and dropped out of the sky one day; what more need I say?' She smiled then turned to leave, then added, 'Remember, we don't have work tonight.'

'Mhm.'

'You're welcome to join us in the lounge. The guild is there waiting for you.'

'Maybe a little later.'

'Sure.' And she left.

Sighing, I pushed the tray away. **i**_Doushiyou?_**/i **I thought as I spun around on the swivel chair. How come the people you need are never there when you need them the most? **i**_Money…money…_**/i** The word kept repeating in my head, **i**_money…_**/i** That was what the poem was about, and that was exactly what this town was in need of. With the next town miles away, it seemed nigh impossible for this town to reach their goal. Spotting my sword, I unsheathed it and stared at the blade. For some reason, I expected some kind of ancient writing to appear on it, but of course, nothing appeared.

I sighed again. **i**_What do I do?_**/i **I stared at my reflection on the blade. **i**_C'mon, I'm smarter than this… Oh!_**/i** At the thought, I sheathed my sword and hastily ate the dinner that was given to me. Washing it down with the water, I flung open the door and ran down the short corridor. Coming to the lounge, I announced my presence louder than I intended. 'This town must be connected to the next one, somehow!'

'Oh, Amelia! If Chung is 'Seiker-ouji-sama', what would you call me and Raven?' asked Elsword, completely ignoring my declaration.

'Well,' I began, trying to keep my last thought in the back of my mind. 'Raven would be Raven-san' because he's much older, but then again, I go to your school, so he'd be 'Raven-senpai'. And-'

'So I'd be that too, right?' Elsword interrupted.

'Hmm, that would be correct if I wasn't pushed up a grade, so now you're just 'Elsword-kun.'

'Is that bad?'

'Not really, it's just not as important.'

'Aw.' he moaned, slouching on the couch. Beside him, I saw Raven hide a smile behind his book. Who knew these guys actually cared for what I called them?

'Either way, it doesn't matter because I just call you 'Raven' and 'Elsword'.' I took a seat when neither replied. Looking around, I noticed Aisha, Rena and Blacktip were all missing.

'Rena is feeding Blacktip outside.' said Eve as if reading my mind.

'And Aisha?'

'She didn't want to come.' answered Chung, childishly consuming his lollipop.

'Ah,' **i**_Just as I thought._**/i** 'Why are you here anyway?'

Elsword sat up again, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. 'We came to see if you were okay.'

'Oh, there was no need to do that.' and I felt my cheeks heat up again.

'Yeah, we did,' he replied, 'we hafta make sure every member is well at every point in time.'

'Member? But I'm not-'

Eve stood up abruptly, causing me the stop immediately. She walked over to me, every step poised with grace, as she unfolded a cloth that was hidden in her hands. Kneeling in front of me, she revealed a simple black, thick-thread bracelet carrying a single charm. She gestured to present my wrist to her, and despite my reluctance, I did so without a word. As she clasped on the bracelet, she said, 'It matters not where you came from, for it is our choice to add you if we wished, and add you we did.'

Bewildered, I stared down at the star charm. It was rimmed with gold and its centre was light pink. It was an extremely simple design, but nevertheless, I adored it. 'I can't accept this.'

'Sure you can, just don't take it off.' Elsword replied, showing his red-centered charm dangling from a fraying fabric.

Lost for words, I stammered my thanks. In reply, they all smiled and Chung gave me a lollipop tearfully, sad to depart with his favourite flavour. He quickly accepted it back and offered me another, which I refused, though he shoved it in my hand. I felt at least an hour and a half pass when I remembered what I came out for. With everyone present, save Aisha, I finally brought aloud my confusion. '…all the business buildings couldn't have just appeared without a foundation 'cause small towns wouldn't usually have them. So, what I'm saying is, this town must have some kind of connection to the next town, right?'

Suddenly, everyone went serious, perhaps I had thought to deep into this towns's past. Blacktip twitched at the silence as he sat in my lap.

Rena was first to recover. 'There's a train at the north of the town, near the school. It had been faulty since its creation, which was a good twenty years ago. About three years ago, the train finally broke. For some reason, when this happened, the tracks vanished and so did the train's creator.'

'And who was the creator?' I asked upon finding my voice.

'Hagus, Hagustus, and Haguson's Father.' answered Eve, when Rena could say no more.

'And that's still not the weirdest part.' said Elsword, not breaking eye contact with his mug. 'When the tracks disappeared, monsters took their place. People have tried to push past them to trade with the next town for money and materials. Unfortunately, those people never returned.'

_More information,_ I thought, m_ore secrets, more confusion. What can I do for these people?_ I looked at Blacktip, who looked up at me. At once I knew we were thinking the same thing. 'First thing's first, I'm going to find the creator.'

At my announcement, everyone in the room stared in astonishment. Chung dropped his hand full of candy and payed them no notice. Even Eve had a hint of interest for once.

'You can't change my mind; I want to help this town.' I said when I saw them ready to protest.

Abruptly, Elsword stood up, causing Raven to drop his book.

'I'm coming with you.' he said, a stern expression on his face.

'Thank you for the offer, but Blacktip and I can go alone; we have past experience.'

'I'm not offering, I'm telling you. I'm not letting you go alone.' he replied. He reminded me of how Aaron would've reacted when I ran away from home.

I stood too, feeling inferior in the low couch I sat in. 'I'm not going alone, I'm going with Blacktip. Besides, if I was, I'd be completely capable.'

'Elsword,' cut in Rena, now standing also, when Elsword was about to shout something back. 'Look at reason. You can't just leave school. And Amelia, you can't just take off without a clue to start with.'

'Actually, Rena.' started Raven, taking off his glasses. 'I can ask the Headmaster for a long-term leave for our guild. As for clues, I suggest we start with the instructors.'

It wasn't only me who was surprised to see him speak. Everyone watched, save Rena who observed in admiration, as he motioned us to sit; and as he sat up tall in his spot, there was barely a breath in the room. Clearing his throat and setting down his book, he began with a voice of authority. 'As my father is close friends with the Headmaster, I can easily grant us an opportunity to leave. As for dealing with the Hagus brothers, I believe Amelia can start us off with that.'

'I can?' I questioned as eyes fell on me.

'You've forgotten,' he continued, 'Elsword has told us everything and that includes what you had done in your lesson today. I hear that Hagustus has taken a liking to you, and with that you can persuade him to tell you anything about his lost father.' He paused as if waiting for someone to comment, and when no one did, he continued once more. 'Hagus, we can contact through Ara Haan who still hasn't showed up since first meeting. Haguson, I can deal with myself. Obtaining information may take some time; therefore I believe we should do that first before setting on any sort of adventure.'

When he concluded his speech, everyone took a moment to let it sink in. While we did so, Raven replaced his glasses atop his nose and took a pen and notepad from his jacket pocket. Clicking the pen, he began scribbling all he had said, down into a neat flow chart. He drew a key in the top-right corner to represent each guild member.

As he did so, I found my voice. 'There's something I should tell you.'

'And what's that, Amelia?' he asked as he frowned at his flow chart.

'I've been having visions.'

'Visions?' And now the attention was back on me.

To avoid eye contact, I stared down at Blacktip, stroking his fur. 'So far I've fainted twice, and so far this is only my second day here. On both occasions, I've had a vision, but of the past not future; almost more like memories. The visions weren't very clear, but the voices were. They were my friends from Thie'ele and they were talking about me in the first one. Senera and Elder Bolana were saying I'd forget; that I wouldn't know what to do when I'd got here. And they were right.'

'Did they say why you were sent here?' questioned Rena.

I shook my head in reply. 'They kept saying I wanted to prove myself; but they didn't say what for. In the second vision, they were saying I was instable, and…someone was calling for me.'

Silence fell across the room again, save for Raven's scribbling. I saw Raven pleased with his writings and he set down his pen. Leaning back on the couch, he read over his flowchart. Chung resumed sucking his lollipop and the other three stared into space.

I couldn't tell what any of them were thinking, but I knew exactly what I felt. The excitement and anxiety weren't new to me; it was all I felt throughout my past. However, this time I felt slightly more protected and more relaxed, knowing I'd have people that have skills for combat. There was nothing I could say to stop them from coming now. I realised this and pushed the thought away. Besides, this is their town and it's only normal for them to want to save it.

Rena looked around the room and read the time on the kitchen clock. Clapping her hands to grab everyone's attention, Rena said. 'Alrighty, time to go. We'll meet at 'the place' tomorrow, lunch time. Elsword, make sure Aisha comes and try to get a hold of Ara. Raven, do not lose that notepad.'

At her command, everyone nodded. I watched as they all left one by one. Chung was last to leave as he kept dropping his candy, every few steps.

When he finally exited the door, Rena closed it behind him, looking pleased with herself. She came back into the lounge and collapsed on the three-seater couch Elsword and Raven were sitting on. Sighing, she whispered, 'I should thank you.'

'Why, what for?'

She opened her eyes, smiling sweetly at me, seeming terribly exhausted. 'For taking action. For three years this town has lived in fear. For three years people have killed themselves trying. For three years poor Raven has argued with himself on how to save the town; how to resolve its mysteries. I can't tell you how grateful I am.'

She looked so grave where she sat, like an elderly lady in hospital. 'I'd like to say 'you're welcome', but arrival here was only by chance. It's not for me to take the credit.'

'Hm.' she chuckled, facing towards the ceiling, eyes closed once more. 'You speak like no one I've ever met…Well,' she began, opening her eyes again, and dusting herself off, 'I'd best take a shower and prepare for tomorrow. It's going to be hectic!'

Her former fatigue vanished at once, and now she jumped up and headed down the hall. I stayed seated, a million thoughts running through my head.

_You need to go for a run_, said Blacktip, leaping onto the table from my lap. He stretched like a cat and gestured for me to get up.

Sighing I slowly got to my feet and stretched. Then, not five seconds later, I spun on the spot and my height shrunk to Blacktip's size. Exercising my four paws, I jumped onto the table next to him. With a nod, we set off, hoping Rena wouldn't be done any time soon.

The wind was chilly outside but I wasn't so bad with my pink fur to protect me. The two of us used the rooftops as our pathway, avoiding any human contact. The stars couldn't be seen for the streetlights and business buildings shone superiorly, eliminating their luminosity. Passing countless houses and infinite amounts of roads and streets, Blacktip and I ended up at the school.

We broke in through an open window, wandering the lonely halls. Making our way to the roof, music was heard from a corner room on the top floor. Exchanging glances, we changed our destination, heading to the occupied classroom.

The door was somewhat ajar when we came to it. Leading the way, Blacktip nudged it open with his nose. It squeaked a little, but not enough for the music to stop. He peeked inside, retreating as soon as he entered. He shook his head at me and we both went in.

There was no one there; the music emitted from a lone music player. I leapt onto the table and stamped on the stop button, noting the player was labelled _'Property of Heal Potions'_ which was too odd to not note. As I did so, Blacktip searched the room for any evidence that someone had been present. A window was open and the wind that blew in caught our attention. We stood on the desk in front of it and leaned out.

_Amelia!_

_Is that the station?_

Below us was an area full of forestry. Trees hug gloomily and branches entwined with each other. Through gaps in the canopy, a glimpse of track work could be seen. Whoever was in the classroom last must've been reasonably skilful at escaping for there were no prominent holes in the leaf-cover.

Before leaving, we scanned the room once more. There wasn't a single possession anyone could've left. It was odd enough to have a stereo still playing hours after school had finished; and with no other evidence, a shiver rippled down my spine to the tip of my tail. What student would come in at nine at night and run away because two foxes were in the hallway, leaving with the music still on and not leave any other mark of their presence? Unless to serve as a distraction for something else.

_Hey Amelia, this is Aisha's homeroom class._Blacktip was searching through the desks and sure enough, found a drawer filled with books labelled _Aisha's Property!_.

I joined him and noticed the stereo was on that very table. _Come to think of it…Aisha wasn't at the meeting and in my opinion, she was mean and suspicious from the beginning._

Blacktip nodded his reply and then gestured to leave and investigate the station. Him in lead, I followed closely behind, creating a shallow pool of wind for us to land safely on. Sure enough, when we reached the bottom, a few metres of track work remained and led out the town beneath rusted iron gates. Whatever was beyond them, I couldn't see for the night's darkness was too dim.

_Something's missing._ I said to Blacktip, who stood next to me staring at the broken tracks too.

_Yeah… the train._


	5. Chapter 5

We kept our discovery to ourselves for the next few days, Blacktip and I. The whole gang seemed so keen on finding the whereabouts of the creator, we didn't want to distract them. Even Aisha, who Elsword managed to convince to show up, looked genuinely intrigued on the subject and not one drop tired.

'The Place' Rena spoke about was just their pavilion that they ate at during lunchtimes. Nevertheless, something seemed more special about the area; perhaps it was just the fact that we were there on a non-school day.

Aside from the fact that Elsword hadn't a clue on the location of the mysterious Ara Haan, everyone was present and accounted for. Raven ran through the procedure once more to refresh everyone's memory, as well as inform Aisha. As he read, Eve sketched out the plan on a large whiteboard Chug had brought in. Thankfully, her diagrams made full sense and she left out not one piece of information.

The meeting took up most of the day, surprisingly, and Rena offered to take me out shopping for fabrics. We spent the night designing travel clothes for each member and daily wear for myself. On Sunday we sewed all day with the help from Aisha and Eve. Oddly enough, Aisha stayed quiet most of the time and only spoke when asking Rena questions about the design. She didn't mock me once on any subject and worked on the opposite side of the table from me. Blacktip did his part in helping by passing threads or spreading out fabrics when we were judging the measurements. Once or twice he got tangled in stray threads or lost between people's legs, all the same, he did his best to help in any way possible.

The morning of Wednesday came and passed as Rena and I were so sleepy it felt like we would collapse at any moment. We struggled through our days juggling sewing, school and work at night. Eventually we successfully finished the clothes and managed to stay awake. Rena was in a slightly better condition than me, but she was probably already used to situations as these.

We ended up coming to school in the nick of time. During the first half of school, Hagus could see I was in no fit state to teach and so gave me theory work which I didn't know existed. Piles of worksheets were given to me about the right way to hold a sword, parts of the sword, how to defend with and without one and the list went on. The knights whom I had only taught for merely four lessons were incredibly disheartened to hear that I couldn't teach that day and begged Hagus to give them paperwork as well. He finally gave in after he had run out of counter arguments and the one hundred and fifty one of us sat and wrote for two hours.

At lunch, Raven didn't turn up. We visited his dungeon room and hastily searched the school. By second half, we still couldn't find him. Elsword suggested we ask Haguson in the staffroom. We did so but he said he hadn't a clue.

'…Though he did ask about some odd things.' Haguson was saying.

'Like what, sir?' questioned Aisha, who apparently was a star student.

'He was asking about the old train and my father.'

We all looked at each other incredulously. He already started and then vanished? Clearly something was wrong. Raven was the sort to immediately report to everyone so that we could all be on the same page.

'Thank you, sir. Let's go!' It was Aisha who spoke, snapping me back to what was taking place.

Just outside, in the empty corridor, Elsword addressed the team. 'Any ideas?'

We stood quiet; it was definite that no ideas were floating around. Besides, Raven was the idea person. Trying to think of something, I absentmindedly looked around. Just when I was about to give up, a flash of metal caught my eye, disappearing around a corner.

'Raven?' I thought aloud. 'Guys, guys it might be Raven!'

We drifted round the corner with myself in the lead. Running down the stairs that followed, no sign of anything was down here. There were more flights of stairs down the hallway and we frantically rushed down them too.

'Halt!' I whispered urgently, raising a hand.

'What is it?' Elsword asked breathlessly in my ear.

With my fox-hearing ability, I listened hard, trying to block out the team's heavy breathing. 'Yells. C'mon.'

We continued cautiously down the damp passageway, cobwebs lining the walls and ceiling. The shouts grew louder, each paired with a _snap_ of metal to wood. The light began dimming and soon, only miniature cracks in the stone ceiling were the source of light. Coming to a great wooden door, we looked at one another and, with a nod, Elsword and I pushed them open. The room they revealed was a medium dungeon with faint lighting and piles of wooden dummies scattered across the stone floor.

'Ara Haan?'

'Hyaah!' The orange-clothed girl slashed the final blow to the last wooden dummy, knocking it off its stand. She turned at Elsword's voice, sweat dripping down her pale, red-cheeked face.

'Have you been here all this time?' questioned Elsword as the team investigated the dungeon.

'Yep,' she answered cheerfully, throwing her long spear at a target without any moments aim. 'Mr Hagus advised me to train here privately, to perfect my martial arts so that I can start teaching as soon as possible.'

'Ah.' he replied, walking over to a shelf full of different designs of spears. 'Did you make these?'

'Mhm, every single one; doesn't take that long. Ara replied, watching Elsword. She turned her attention to me, suddenly, like she just remembered I was there. Holding a hand out, she said. 'Ara Haan.'

'Amelia Asbrey.' I said, shaking it.

Noticing my bracelet, she cupped my hand in hers and studied it closer. She then smiled at me like a child. 'Welcome to the guild!'

'Th-thank you…' I stuttered, alarmed at the warmth of her hand in contrast to the dank atmosphere.

'Anyway,' she said, letting go of my head and looking around, assessing the other members, who joined Elsword in examining the weapon range. 'What're you all doing here?'

'We were looking for Raven who went missing and we somehow stumbled upon your chamber.'

'Oh? What happened?' she asked, looking back at me.

'That's the thing, he just disappeared.' It was odd talking to Ara, almost like talking to a demented mirror.

'How long's he been gone for?'

'Start of lunch…which reminds me, we should be getting back now.' I replied, checking the time on my LDC, which still fuzzed up though allowing me to read the time.

'Good timing, I need to start setting up my targets again.' she smiled and hurried away.

By the end of school, Raven was nowhere to be found. We searched his dungeon, homeroom class and even asked over the P.A. system, but to no avail. We tried not to worry and returned to our houses. It wasn't until Rena and I had our night shift.

'Do you mind stacking two more rows on the canned corn stack?' Rena was addressing me.

'Sure thing.' At her command, I immediately headed to the storeroom for extras. Switching on the lights, I explored the still unfamiliar area, as I spent most of my work time talking to Rena. It took a short while to locate the canned foods, but eventually I found them.

'Lychees…peaches…pineapple…no good - there are all the fruits.' I muttered aloud to myself. I continued down the aisle, keeping an eye out for non-fruit canned foods.

Two rows later, I found them. Shelves of cans labelled _CORN_ stood before me and I chose the amount needed, placing them each in the basket I grabbed on the way in. Just as I was done and about to leave, something colourful caught my eye. Bending down, I saw a toy train, only the conductor's cart. Knowing it was definitely not supposed to be there, I fished it out and examined it. Maybe some kid in the district was playing a joke or-

'Rena!' I threw the train into the basket and dashed out, clinging onto the bulky thing.

'What? What's wrong?' Her face was full of concern as she came towards me.

'I think I might know where Raven is.' I told her, setting the basket down and untying my apron ribbon.

'Eh? You do? But we can't leave now.' she blurted though she was taking off her apron too.

'We'll be quick, I'm not particularly certain. We'll also need to grab Blacktip, his nose is better than mine.'

Leaving a note on the counter explaining our absence, we locked the doors and windows and hurried home to fetch Blacktip. The smart little fox needed hardly a second explanation and tagged along immediately. On the way from the house to the station, I told Rena about Blacktip and I's secret outing and about the missing train to which she gasped and almost tripped as we were running.

Upon reaching the site, we still couldn't spot Raven. Blacktip scanned the area, sniffing every nook and cranny. As he did so, Rena and I investigated the tracks and gate. They weren't any different to when Blacktip and I last came, but something certainly seemed off-putting.

_Amelia._

'What is it? Telepathy.' I added when I saw Rena's confused face, We walked over to the fox who was perched in front of the school wall, his head tilted to one side.

'Are those-?'

'Claw marks.' I finished Rena's sentence. Three long gashes indented the wall; obviously someone had been here. I ran my fingers along one and sniffed at them. 'Raven.'

Rena gasped, her hands cupped over her mouth. 'Why? How-?'

But I just shook my head. 'I don't know.'

We stood in silence, thoughts running wild. Blacktip sniffed the perimeter, determined to find more evidence. Minutes passed and he come back, only to shake in his head and sit at my feet. I was about to pick him up when a sudden thought struck my mind. 'Rena?'

'Mm?'

'You don't see anything beyond those walls, do you; in the morning and during school and stuff?'

'Beyond the wall? No, I don't think so.' she replied in a thoughtful position. 'Maybe you should ask Elsword, he spends his mornings on the roof after all.'

;Mm…though if it's Elsword, he would've noticed nothing or come screaming down that halls.'

To this, she chuckled. 'You know us too well already.'

'Well- ah!'

'Ah!'

Something large plonked down from the trees above. A shiny metal claw gleamed in the moonlight, but the rest of the body lay in the shadows.

'Raven!'

'Wait!' I grabbed Rena's wrist as she was about to dash to the limp figure. 'You can't be sure he's in his right mind.'

The three of us stood immobile as the person slowly got to its feet. It slouched then flicked its head back, revealing a blood covered face. It was definitely Raven, but it wasn't _our_ Raven. He had a savage look and blood all over his person, purple blood. Upon noticing us, he grunted and swung a claw at us, taking a step forward.

'Rena, get behind me.' Though she was older than me, she was vulnerable without her bow. I took on a battle stance and calmly said to the changed man: 'Raven? Raven, it's me, Amelia, and Rena. We're your friends, remember?'

He straightened up slightly, a very muddled expression on his face. He reached out with his non-clawed hand but stumbled and fell to his knees. With another _plonk_, his body went limp on the ground once more.

'Raven?' I edged towards him, cautious with every step I took. In no time at all, Raven made a choking noise and a small, black, translucent shadow parted from him. It formed a cloud of what seemed like ash and for a second, I thought I saw gleaming read eyes, but then it drifted away in a strong night breeze.

Instantly, Rena rushed to his aid, helping him sit up, blood staining her clothes and hair.

'Wh-what happened…to me?' he mumbled hazily, peering down at his school shirt that was once white.

'We were hoping _you_ could tell _us_.' I said, sitting on my legs in front of him, Blacktip in my lap.

'No, I don't remember anything.' he replied with his deep voice, rubbing his forehead.

'What do you remember last?' asked Rena, dabbing at his face with a cloth from her pocket.

'I…I was on my way to the pavilion, then… I felt something come up behind me.' I could see him struggling to remember, staring wide-eyed at his bloody palms.

'Rena, I think we should take him home, quick as possible.'

'Yes, yes I think that would be best.'

With her leading the way, I carried Raven on a chair of air, always watching for the ominous shadow to appear at any moment. Blacktip followed from the rooftops, his sharper senses at a more reliable position. Rounding several corners, the sun began making its presence known. The tiniest sliver of it was showing when we arrived at the two storey building.

Rena knocked urgently on the big wooden door, several times in fact as no one inside seemed to be ready to receive guests at this hour.

Finally the door opened to reveal a very grumpy old man, white hairs crowding his few black ones. 'Waddaya want Rena?' he asked rather groggily.

'Please, sir, we've found Raven.'

At the mention of his name, Raven's father - or who I guessed to be his father - immediately came awake, worry and relief replacing his former sleepiness. 'Oh, Raven!'

He ushered us to come in and place his son on the couch. We did so with the greatest care as Raven was still in a state of shock. Like it was a reflex, Rena went into the kitchen and came out again minutes later with a steaming hot chocolate.

Placing it in Raven's hands, she said to the father. 'I'm sorry to turn up at such an early hour, sir.'

'No, no, no, that's good, thank you Rena.' the man replied, rubbing his temples. 'What in the world happened?'

'We're not too sure, sir, he'd been missing since the start of lunch yesterday.'

'Yes, Elsword's informed me.' the man said, standing up and tightening his robe strap. 'I'll go fetch some clean clothing.' and with that he disappeared down a hallway.

'Monsters.'

'What?'

'There were monsters, hundreds of them.' murmured Raven. He set down his hot chocolate and clasped his hands. 'A voice…there was a voice that kept telling me to destroy. It just kept saying "destroy, destroy" and nothing more.'

'Here you go, son.' said his father, passing him his clothes.

Raven took them but placed them next to himself, not really acknowledging what they were.

'I'm sorry, who are you?' The question was directed at me and I looked up to see Raven's father finally noticing me.

'Oh, Amelia Asbrey, I moved in a few days ago.'

'Ah, pleasure, can't thank you enough. Falcon.' He concluded, offering his hand.

'You're more than welcome.' I replied, shaking it.

Turning his attention back to his son, he said. 'How're you feeling Raven?'

Much to his surprise, Raven had fallen asleep. Falcon smiled and stood back up to his full height. 'It's best you get back home and ready for school - the both of you.'

'Yes, sir.' answered Rena, gesturing for me to follow.

We silently left the house, shivering in the autumn breeze. Outside, the sun was fully the sky, warning us to hurry home. We did so, not saying a word, too stunned to speak a thought. Even Blacktip had nothing to say until we reached Rena's house.

_Do you think he remembers the conversation with Haguson?_

'There's a good chance that he doesn't.' I replied, pulling on my school shirt. 'Either way, we won't know until he recovers.'

'Amelia? Breakfast's ready.' Rena called, knocking on my bedroom door.

'I'll be out in a second!' I called back.

_Keep aware everywhere you look._ Blacktip advised, looking up at me with his beady eyes.

'Of course. When am I ever not aware?' I replied, kissing him on his head. 'See you after school.'

I joined Rena in the lounge where she sat stirring her hot chocolate. I sat beside her, taking the other hot chocolate in my hands. After a moment, I noticed she was trembling as she stirred her drink.

'Rena.' I said, setting down my mug.

'What is it?' she asked, not looking at me.

'He'll be okay.'

She paused her stirring, then set down her mug too.

'Rena?'

Tears welled up in her eyes as she turned to face me. A moment later, she threw her arms around me, sobbing into my shoulder. 'Wh-why is this ha-happen-ning?' she sniffed at intervals. 'It u-used to be su-such a pea-peaceful t-town.'

'Shh, shh.' I consoled her, patting her head, unsure of what to do. 'I'm sorry this is happening.'

'Hm-hm?'

'Ever since I came, things have been going downhill.' I said as she poured out her tears. 'I haven't even done that much here, but I promise, I'll do everything within my power to save the town.'

'But it wasn't your fault.' Rena said, sitting up and wiping her eyes. 'It was inevitable, and now, you've been sent to help us, right?' she smiled through her tears, trying to sound strong.

'I hope I was. For now, it's our job to follow in Raven's footsteps and carry on the investigation while he's recovering.' I assured her, sounding more positive than I felt.

'Mhm, and also finish breakfast quickly so we can inform everyone else.'

'Yes!'


End file.
